Serena Williams Drops Over 30 Pounds With Controversial Treatment

Serena Williams has opened up a couple of well being journey that has reshaped each her physique and her outlook on life.

The 43-year-old tennis icon revealed that she turned to a GLP-1 remedy to help her weight reduction targets after years of frustration postpartum.

Now down 31 kilos, she says she feels lighter, more healthy, and extra assured than ever.

For a girl who constructed her legacy on self-discipline, grit, and pushing her physique to the boundaries, Serena Williams was shocked by how tough weight administration turned after childbirth.

Following the start of her first daughter, Alexis Olympia, in 2017, her physique not responded the best way it used to.

“I by no means was in a position to get to the burden I wanted to be it doesn’t matter what I did, irrespective of how a lot I educated,” she defined in a chat with PEOPLE Magazine.

Regardless of her tireless efforts, the outcomes refused to return. For the 23-time Grand Slam champion, this was international territory.

She shared, “I had by no means taken shortcuts in my profession and all the time labored actually arduous. I do know what it takes to be the most effective. So it was irritating to do the identical issues and see no change on the size or the best way my physique appeared.”

When she gave start to her second daughter, Adira River, in 2023, historical past repeated itself.

She initially shed weight rapidly, however then progress stalled.

“I by no means misplaced one other pound,” she quipped, admitting she felt caught and uncertain if she might ever return to a spot the place she felt comfy in her physique.

Decided to discover a new strategy, Williams determined to discover medical choices.

She partnered with Ro, a direct-to-patient healthcare firm, to strive a GLP-1 therapy. GLP-1 drugs, which embody broadly recognized manufacturers like Ozempic and Mounjaro, assist regulate urge for food and satiety by working within the mind.

Nonetheless, the choice wasn’t straightforward. “I did numerous analysis on it. I used to be like, ‘is that this a shortcut? What are the advantages? What should not the advantages?’ I actually needed to dive into it earlier than I simply did it,” she admitted.

Her hesitations mirrored these of many individuals contemplating the remedy, given its controversy.

Ultimately, Williams consulted with a physician and started weekly injections in early 2024, after she completed breastfeeding.

“They had been tremendous supportive and it was straightforward to get the remedy,” she mentioned. “I misplaced over 31 kilos utilizing my GLP-1 and I used to be actually enthusiastic about that weight reduction.”

Past the quantity on the size, Williams says the most important change has been how her physique feels.

“I simply can do extra. I’m extra energetic. My joints don’t damage as a lot,” she defined.

Even easy duties turned simpler, as she shared, “One thing so simple as simply getting down is rather a lot simpler for me. And I do it rather a lot sooner. I really feel like I’ve numerous vitality and it is nice. I simply really feel fairly good about it.”

Her weight reduction, she emphasised, didn’t exchange the wholesome way of life she has all the time maintained. As an alternative, it complemented it.

“GLP-1 helped me improve all the things I used to be already doing—maintaining a healthy diet and figuring out, whether or not as an expert athlete on the high stage of tennis or simply going to the gymnasium each day,” she famous.

Transparency has all the time been Williams’ model, each on and off the court docket, and she or he needed her followers to listen to her story immediately.

“So I feel that it’s essential for everybody to listen to my story. And I really feel like there’s lots of people that may relate,” Williams mentioned, including that asking for assist doesn’t imply taking a shortcut.

Regardless of the transformation, Serena Williams insists her confidence has by no means hinged on the quantity on the size.

“Weight reduction ought to by no means actually change your self picture,” she careworn.

She additionally acknowledged that ladies typically face judgment, no matter their measurement, a actuality she has skilled firsthand all through her public life.

“I all the time felt comfy at any measurement, whether or not I used to be heavier or not,” she mentioned. Nevertheless, she additionally admitted her physique struggled with the additional kilos after being pregnant. “I had ache in my joints and ache in several areas due to the additional weight that I am not used to carrying since I had kids.”

Williams clarified that there was “nothing flawed” with the dimensions she was earlier than, however emphasised that she needed to be the place she personally felt finest. “I simply knew that I needed to be the place I felt comfy.”

As a mom of two younger daughters, instructing physique positivity is equally essential to her.